This has happened to me a lot in my success-driven life. The criticism

always hurts - but it hurts less now than it did when I was younger.

Moreover, I've learned to
profit from it. You can too.

What's important, I've found, is not the criticism itself but how I react

to it. Praise motivates me to
do more of what I'm doing. Criticism –

which used to make me want to quit - spurs me to examine what

I'm doing and see if I can do it better.

This happened just recently after I published an article in my newsletter

about the economy. Two of my
most esteemed colleagues read it,

didn't like it, and chastised me for bad writing. That set me aback.

I consider myself to be a
pretty good writer, but they made me

wonder if I was really just a shallow-minded pundit of mediocrity.

After doubting myself for a few days, I set to the task of profiting from their comments. I reread what
they said and made notes on those points I

thought were valid. I circulated my notes to Jason, Suzanne, and
Judith,

my editors. That began an
ongoing discussion about how we could

improve our newsletter. And we came up with a few good ideas.

I then wrote to my two friends who were nice enough to honestly critique

my article. I thanked them for
helping me make the newsletter better.

And I meant it.

Like or dislike - it still works!

In What Got You Here Won't Get
You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, Marshall
Goldsmith talks about how important feedback

is to success:

Feedback is very useful for telling us "where we
are." Without feedback... we couldn't have results. We couldn't keep
score. We wouldn't know if we were getting better or worse. Just as
salespeople need feedback on what's selling and leaders need feedback on
how they are perceived by their subordinates, we all need feedback to see
where we are, where we need to go, and to measure our progress.

Goldsmith acknowledges that negative feedback "can be employed by others

to reinforce our feelings of
failure, or at least remind us of them - and our

Whether it’s starting a
new business, learning a new language, or mastering an instrument — we love to start
things without finishing. One of the biggest reasons why we never achieve our
goals is due to a lack of motivation and persistence.

We start out with an
abundance of optimism about the journey, without being fully prepared mentally
for the inevitable obstacles ahead. As Tony Robbins says, “Success in
anything is 80% psychology, and 20% mechanics.”

Let’s uncover the six
powerful ways to become more persistent, so you’ll never quit again.

1. Have a vision outside of yourself

It all starts with this
first step.

Without a bigger vision
and purpose that is greater than yourself, you’ll quit at the initial stages of
difficulty, as you will inevitably be knocked down. In contrast, when
you’re achieving something for a purpose outside of yourself, the pressure of accountability
alone will push you further than a purpose that is self-centered.

For example, if you’re
learning a language in order to have a deeper connection with your life
partner, you’re much more likely to persist because your relationship is on the
line.

Or, if you’re trying to
lose weight, think about how confident, joyful, and happy you will feel. But
more importantly, think about how that will affect the loved ones around you.

Shifting from a
self-centered goal to a bigger purpose that affects those you love helps you
focus on what you will get out of it, instead of how hard it is.

2. Build a support team

As the popular saying
goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

The top performers in
the world all have a support team to keep them motivated and persistent, from
personal coaches, employees, assistants, mentors, accountability partners — the
list goes on.

More importantly, you
should surround yourself with individuals who have already achieved what you
want to achieve. Not only will this affect your speed of learning, but science
has shown that it will impact your persistency and resiliency when things get
difficult. When you have a clearly-defined purpose, with a state of certainty
that you can achieve it, you influence a system in our body called the reticular activating system (RAS),
that helps our brains decide what information to focus on and what to delete.

In summary, your mind
starts to focus your energy on achieving the goal at hand, instead of unhelpful
distractions like doubts and fears.

3. Have a growth mindset

In order to achieve our
goals, we often have to get out of our own way.

The author
of Mindset, Carol Dweck, spent twenty years researching how our mindset
affects success. The research claims that individuals have on of two mindsets.
Perhaps you possess the growth mindset, where you thrive on
challenges to achieve success. Otherwise, you own a fixed mindset, where you
think you were born with whatever talents you have, and there’s not much you
can do to change them.

In other words, we should
focus on celebrating small wins and progress, knowing that we are continuing to
improve, rather than having lofty expectations.

4. Schedule it

The most successful people
in the world, including billionaire entrepreneurs, Olympic athletes, and
world-class learners, all use schedules to prioritize their day.

Why a schedule as opposed
to a simple to-do list?

According to a
researcher Kevin Kruse,
there are a few key weaknesses of a to-do list:

A to-do list doesn’t
account for time. When we have a long list of tasks, we tend to tackle those
that can be completed quickly in a few minutes, leaving the longer items left
undone. Research from the company iDoneThis indicates that 41% of all to-do
list items are never completed!

It doesn’t distinguish
between urgent and important. Once again, our impulse is to fight the urgent
and ignore the important. (Are you overdue for your next colonoscopy or
mammogram?)

To-do lists contribute to
stress. In what’s known in psychology as the Zeigarnik effect, unfinished tasks
contribute to intrusive, uncontrolled thoughts. It’s no wonder we feel so
overwhelmed in the day, but fight insomnia at night.

Instead, we should focus
on scheduling our priorities, such
as reviewing your Spanish common words, practicing the drums, or writing 500 words for your
upcoming book.

What doesn’t get
scheduled, doesn’t get done.

5. Teach Others

Have you ever taught
something you learned to someone, and found it easier to remember in the
future?

This is because when we
teach something to someone, our brain is able to register the information more
effectively than simply reading about it.

As research shows, it turns
out that people retain:

5% of what they learn when
they’ve learned from a lecture.
10% of what they learn when they’ve learned from reading.
20% of what they learn from audio-visual.
30% of what they learn when they see a demonstration.
50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion.
75% of what they learn when they practice what they learned.
90% of what they learn when they teach someone else to use the information
immediately.

This research finding is
especially relevant for those wanting to master a new skill.

If you want to learn how
to become a better speaker, don’t just watch others do it. You need to
immediately use what you’ve learned; then try to ‘teach’ someone else what
you’ve just done.

If you’re learning a new
language, instead of using one-sided interactions like audio tapes or mobile
apps, work with a language teacher or conversation exchange partner to
practice what you’re learning.

The key to learning with
persistence is to use it (or lose it).

6. Have stakes

Why are we less likely to
be late to a business meeting than a meeting with our friends? Because the
former could get us fired. As humans, we’re naturally more motivated to
commit when there is a consequence or a stake, even if it’s a friendly one.

Research shows
that we are three times more influenced by negative consequences than positive
consequences, so stakes such as losing money are powerful incentives to use
against yourself.

You can make a friendly
bet with a friend to keep you honest. Or, try using a program like StickK, where you can set
a specific goal with a referee to monitor you, and donate money to a charity as
a consequence for not succeeding.

The key is to get someone
involved from your support team, and share your goals publicly. The social
pressure of affecting your reputation alone will push you further than you can
imagine.